Jewish museum is an important tourist sight of Prague. Many tourists visit it every year in order to learn more about Jewish customs, religion and the history of Jewish society in Prague. Before you decide to visit this sight, read the article in order to inform yourself what can be visited, and the ticket prices which are a bit high in comparison to other sites in Prague.
It can be said that Jewish Museum is not a museum. It is a collection of Synagogues and Jewish buildings that can be visited together under the common name of Jewish Museum in Prague. Nevertheless, in every synagogue that you visit, a part of the visiting area will be dedicated to educating visitors about Jewish culture, customs and religion.
The Jewish sights that can be visited are: Maisel Synagogue, Pinkas Synagogue, Old Jewish Cemetery, Klausen Synagogue, Spanish Synagogue, Old-New Synagogue, Robert Guttmann Gallery and Ceremonial Hall.
Maisel Synagogue
Maisel Synagogue was built in 1592 by the Mayor of the Jewish Town, Mordecai Maisel. In 1689, the synagogue burned in a fire and since then it has been rebuilt several times.
Visitors can see the religious objects placed in two separate rooms on the ground floor of the synagogue, and the well-known 2D presentation of the Jewish Town Langweil’s model of Prague (This presentation is a piece of the video of the Langweil’s model which can be seen in full length at The City of Prague Museum).
Pinkas Synagogue
Pinkas Synagogue was built in the 16th century by Aron Meshullam Horowitz, one of the richest Jewish people in Prague. At first it was a private synagogue of Horowitz family, but in 1950s it was transformed into a Memorial to Jewish victims of the Holocaust. On the inner walls of the synagogue there are more than 70,000 written names of the Jewish Holocaust victims.
Old Jewish Cemetery
Old Jewish Cemetery is one of the oldest surviving Jewish cemeteries in the world. It was founded in the first half of the 15th century while the last individual was buried 350 years later. Even though the cemetery was enlarged several times, there was not enough space for the needs of Jewish Town in Prague. Therefore, in some cases even 10 bodies were buried on top of each other, and this is the reason why tombstones are placed so close to each other.
Spanish Synagogue
For most tourists it is the most beautiful building of the Jewish Museum. It was built in 1868, and among tourists it is most renowned for its beautiful interior decorated with golden motifs and stained glass windows. On the second floor, museum treasury (some 200 silver objects) is also on display.
Old-New Synagogue
Old-New Synagogue is a very important Jewish building in Prague. It was built in the 13th century and is the oldest Synagogue in Europe that continuously served its purpose (it was only closed during the Nazi regime in Prague). One of the possible reasons why this synagogue is called Old-New synagogue is that at first it was given the prefix New to distinguish it from the older synagogues. After other synagogues were built, it got another prefix: Old-New Synagogue.
(!) Because the stale air it is quite hard to stay in the Synagogue for a longer time.
Robert Guttmann Gallery
The gallery was named after a Jewish naive painter, Robert Guttmann (1880-1942). 80m2 of this gallery is dedicated to temporary exhibitions selected from the collection of the museum. The collections focus on Jewish life, Jewish monuments in Czech Republic and the persecutions of Jews in the Second World War.
Ceremonial Hall
It is located next to the Old Jewish Cemetery. The building belonged to the Prague’s Burial Society. On the first floor of the building once there was a room used for the ritual washing of the dead, while the second floor was a burial society’ club room. Nowadays, this building is used as the exhibition area for the Prague Burial Society history. Visitors can get acquainted with the Jewish customs and ceremonies associated with death.
Ticket prices for the Jewish Museum in Prague
Jewish town of Prague
(Maisel Synagogue, Pinkas Synagogue, Old Jewish Cemetery, Klausen Synagogue, Spanish Synagogue, Old-New Synagogue, Robert Guttmann Gallery and Ceremonial Hall).
Regular ticket price is: 480 CZK.
Reduced ticket price is: 320 CZK.
Fee for taking photos: 70 CZK.
Jewish Museum in Prague
(Maisel Synagogue, Pinkas Synagogue, Old Jewish Cemetery, Klausen Synagogue, Spanish Synagogue, Robert Guttmann Gallery and Ceremonial Hall).
Regular ticket price is: 300 CZK.
Reduced ticket price is: 200 CZK.
Fee for taking photos: 70 CZK.
Old New Synagogue
(just the Old New Synagogue)
Regular ticket price is: 200 CZK.
Reduced ticket price is: 140 CZK.
Fee for taking photos: 70 CZK.
Reduced price (for all categories): for children between 6 and 15 years old, students under the age of 26.
Free entrance (for all categories): children not older than 6 years.
We advise you to check ticket prices before visiting – check the official webpage of the Jewish Museum in Prague.
Working hours of the Jewish Museum in Prague
January-March
Monday-Sunday (closed on Saturdays) working hours are: 09:00-16:30h.
April-October
Monday-Sunday (closed on Saturdays) working hours are: 09:00-18:00h.
November December
Monday-Sunday (closed on Saturdays) working hours are: 09:00-16:30h.
Closed: on quite a few Jewish holidays - for more information about working hours visit the webpage of the Jewish Museum in Prague.
